Capstone Cup 2018-2019 Annual Report

CAPSTONE CUP ANNUAL REPORT

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SMOOTHING THE TRANSITION, SHOWCASING THE SKILLS FROM THE DIRECTORS

The Capstone Cup is a flagship event at the University of Nebraska Omaha’s College of Business Administration. It was designed to help students make the transition from student to young professional. The competition pushes them to be polished while showcasing their skills and knowledge to members of the local business community.

The involvement of our community partners is what brings this competition to life.

DR. ERIN PLEGGENKUHLE-MILES

DR. ERIN BASS

The business professionals who serve as our judges or sponsors help us "bring the boardroom to the classroom," giving this competition a real- world feel. This benefit is not just received by students — sponsors and judges get a first-hand look at our students in action. We are happy to report that many presentations landed interviews for students, with several ultimately getting jobs. That’s what we’re committed to deliver — a valuable experience for students and a showcase of their talent that will encourage employers to recruit from this exceptional group.

The competition has evolved since its inception thanks to the faculty that serve as the lifeblood of the event, including Dr. Brent Clark and Dr. Leif Lundmark, as well as ourselves. Each iteration is aimed at enhancing the student experience while achieving our goals of professional development and strategic thinking. Excitement and anticipation of the program has grown. At the spring finals, it was standing room only, and the energy was palpable. Participation in the Capstone Cup has provided these highly motivated individuals with a way to successfully transition from their student role. We will continue to innovate and work with our partners to deliver a program that is not only a flagship for the university, but a showcase of young talent for our thriving business community.

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A UNIQUE CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE The Capstone Cup is a semester-long competition comprised of a kickoff event and three rounds of competition. The Capstone Cup was born at UNO College of Business Administration, and is unique to our school and our identity as a metropolitan university focused on preparing our students for success.

The Capstone Cup is delivered by a team of CBA strategy professors in the Department of Management:

Dr. Erin Bass | Dr. Brent Clark | Dr. Leif Lundmark | Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles

KICKOFF EVENT

ROUND ONE

ROUND TWO

FINALS EVENT

All students attend Team-building exercise Capstone Cup information

35–40 teams Up to 5 rooms of presentations 25+ external judges

15–20 teams Up to 4 rooms of presentations 20+ external judges

Four teams 4+ executive judges Poster competition, networking event, and finalist presentations are open to public

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BY THE NUMBERS

1,464 40% 30% 7%

participants since 2015

of participants are female of participants are international students of participants are active military, veterans, or military dependent students

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS FALL 2018 103 students 24 teams 51 judges from 30 employers 17 finalists from 7 concentrations 54 students with more than one concentration

SPRING 2019 180 students 38 teams 64 judges from 27 employers 19 finalists from 7 concentrations 85 students with more than one concentration

*Management totals include students concentrating in Management, Human Resource Management, and Supply Chain Management *Finance & Banking totals include students concentrating in Investment Science, Portfolio Management, and Real Estate

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PARTNER WITH US Over the years, we have been honored and pleased to partner with businesses and professionals across Omaha. Support has come in many forms, including sponsorship of prizes, distinguished judges’ time and attention, and valuable input. Without our generous partners, the Capstone Cup wouldn't be possible. In return for their contributions, valued partners are recognized throughout communication messages on our media channels and have an opportunity to access the best talent that UNO CBA has to offer. The Capstone Cup thrives on its partnerships with the local business community. For the 2018–2019 Academic Year, we welcomed eight corporate sponsors and more than 100 local judges representing over 30 local employers.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact: Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles | erinpmiles@unomaha.edu THANKS TO OUR 2018—2019 SPONSORS

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FALL 2018 BUSINESS CASES Complex and practical cases are used throughout the competition so students get a glimpse of the strategic issues they will encounter in their careers and utilize what they learn during their undergraduate business curriculum to solve current, real-world issues.

TEAKOE: SMALL BATCH FROM SCRATCH Experiencing high growth since its young start-up days as a tea manufacturer in Denver, Colorado, Teakoe has tailored their marketing to attracting health conscious millennials. Although Teakoe management has felt optimistic about its growth the past six years, they have expressed concern that their widespread products might be causing them to miss significant opportunities with some of their target markets. Has Teakoe been growing in the best possible way?

BITFURY: BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY As the largest full-scale blockchain company in the world, BitFury has spent over seven years creating groundbreaking software and hardware solutions necessary for businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals to securely move assets across the blockchain. Moving forward, BitFury hopes to expand their operations past data mining and chip manufacturing and create a market for blockchain technology in public affairs. How can BitFury best set itself up for future success in untapped areas of the industry?

YETI: WILDLY STRONGER. KEEP ICE LONGER Emerging as one of the hottest names in the outdoors and recreation industry, Yeti has come far from its humble beginnings as a company whose goal was to create a high-end cooler for avid outdoorsmen. In an industry that seemed destined for maturity, Yeti has become a market disruptor, gaining what is described as a cult-like following from all different consumer backgrounds. With the company vision of delivering exceptional “lifestyle” products in any environment, how can Yeti stay ahead of imitators and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage?

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SPRING 2019 BUSINESS CASES GAMESTOP: POWER TO THE PLAYERS A company that used to be the staple of the game buying experience, GameStop is now in the midst of store closings and falling stock prices. Acting as a middle man for most of their existence, the company has been cut out of the process through the creation of digital downloads. Console gamers, such as those who own a PlayStation or Xbox device, can now purchase games online through console stores, which has eliminated the need for the physical copies that GameStop sells.

Given its unique market share in gaming memorabilia and trade-in values, what would be the best way to leverage GameStop’s existing strengths and turn them into new and successful business operations?

ADT INC.: SECURING YOUR HOME AND BUSINESS Helping its customers protect what matters mosttm since 1874, ADT Inc. is a name synonymous with security and recognized as one of the most trusted brands in the security industry. Dedicated to protecting its customers in the most advanced ways possible, ADT has almost 150 years of experience in a market that expects high quality products that deliver peace of mind. Recently, new entrants into the market have exposed ADT’s services as being costly and outdated, which has caused the company to innovate and create more technologically advanced product offerings. How can ADT find a path toward strategic growth in an industry that is constantly threatened by new entrants and innovations?

ROKU: STREAMING PIONEER As the pioneer and market disruptor of how media is consumed, Roku has been connecting customers, publishers, and advertisers with its unique capabilities for over 10 years. With the belief that all TV content should be available through streaming, Roku has forever changed the traditional model of how media content is distributed and consumed. While Roku is still the market leader in providing over-the-top platforms, substitutes and competition are stiff in the streaming market segment. The company is also still looking to shrink operating expenses and make a profit for the first time since its creation. How can Roku create a strategy that superiorly positions itself for longterm profitability?

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2018–2019 CAPSTONE CUP PARTICIPANTS FALL 2018 Caleb Abel Noah Aboneh Tariq Al Mahrouqi * Arshia Alahi Ammar Al Ammar Abdullah Alarjani Abdulaziz Albalawi * Sharifa Albalushi Abdullah Hammad * Mohammed Al- Maqbali Saad Almkainzy Saoud Alshahrani Erik Anderson Alyssa Askeland Grete Baker Rafael Banderas Tallon Barber Nicole Becker Seth Bledsoe Sarah Branting Mitch Bruckner Lukas Buchta Felicia Bullock Tristan Carlson Nash Carolan

Austin Case Joe Cherek Neal Claar * David Cooper Tayler Crayne * Dalton Daeges Chris Davis Ryan DeVries Anna Di Ruocco and Leo Di Ruocco * Stone Dickerson Elijah Fowler Elijah Fowler * Steph Freund Pierce Fulmer Ryan Galt Teymur Ganbarov Bryce Gartrell * Lasha Goodwin Haley Gould Abby Griffith Justin Hansen Andrea Hardesty Caitlyn Hogue Madeleine Holmes Lauren Hunter Rachel Jarvis Kati Johnston

Tanner Kaeding Thomas Klehr Ben Kositzke Yuyu Lin * Lucas Luke Andrea Marquez Dan Marsden * Spencer Marxsen Steven McCann Alissa McMahon Kyle McMindes Stefan Medel Tyler Morton * Caleb Moyer * Jon Murray Sarah Nickolaison Devin Norris Dustin Ohlin Fredrik Olofsson Mason Parriott Krystsina Pasheyev Christopher Petersen Collin Plath Trent Pooley Jose Ramos Logan Riley Taylor Roberts Nolan Robinson Juan Rojas-Lopez

* MaKayla Rolf Hannah Rotschafer Jack Searl Indrit Shehu Dan Siebels Kyle Silke Jack Smith Adam Snow Keith Speicher Michelle Steecker Brett Streff * Cortny Surber Brady Sutfin * Lisa Theisen Lisa Thomsen Mya Thornton * Gary Tranmer Mark Uhlir Chase Welch James Wettengel * Bria Williams Jacob Zagurski

SPRING 2019 Alejandro Aguirre Al-Warith Al Harthy Cristian Aleman Saud Almehmadi Omar Alotaibi Ahmed Alshakhs Mohammed Alzidi Grant Anderson * Nichole Atkinson Samual Atkinson Kodjo Aziamble Matt Bahle Sarah Barmettler Hadeel Basma Lynlee Baumann Kelsea Bayliss Emily Beattie Ismael Becerra Dustin Beghtel * Shaylee Bellows Bailey Bennett Connor Berg Chad Beutel Jess Boettger * Britten Bogatz Kira Boyd

Zach Buchta * Colin Burkhalter Jessica Cabello Courtney Carlson * David Carlson Keelee Case Julie Champ Paige Connole Dalila Cordoba Alex Crawford * Rebecca Crowell Tyler Daugherty Jordan Davis * Bushra Dawood RJ Dechow * Hope Dendinger Sarah Diego Amy Dinh * Nguyen Do Kevin Duarte Angel Echague Connor Eickhoff Brianna Eisert Kendall Ellis Katie Epps * William Ernst Iris Esquivel Gabrielle Estivo

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“ The Capstone Cup is one of the most engaging, academically challenging, and fun class projects I did at UNO. The competition encouraged me and a lot of other students to try harder which also meant we got more out of it. This was the first time every class I took combined together into one cohesive unit which was very rewarding to see as I finished off my undergraduate business degree. Even though I didn’t make it to the finals, I was still able to participate in the poster competition, which brought yet another unique and new element for applying all of my classroom knowledge to a real-world problem. In addition, I was contacted by business professionals afterwards about the poster which shows that — whether you’re in the finals or not — the Capstone Cup can provide a lot of great opportunities for any graduating senior.

CHRIS WINCHESTER, SPRING 2019

* Alex Fagan Philip Faughn Mallarie Fila Claire Fischer Dev Gajmer Getzfrid,Emma Johanna Glaser Jared Glass Karol Gonzalez-Rivera Jaime J. Gonzalez Amanda Goodsell * Charlie Goracke Tim Graves Cuentin Gray Mitch Hahn Rhys T. Hansen Matt Hanson Nathan Hanson Abby Hargens Bernadette Harnisch * Kimberly Harris Brandon Heffernan Hannah Heikkila Ryan Higginbotham Patricia Higgins Kyle Hill Jarod Hindes Tiffany Hunter Jacob Huston

Madeline Igo Jaida Jackson * Dominika Jedinak Hayley Johnson Keira Johnson Tierra Johnson Brenden Jones Joel Kazhila Noah Keller Jessi Kneifl Tessa Koerting Trevor Koger Amy Kohlscheen Daniel Koley * Daniel Kuchar Butrus Lazarus Chad Lind Jackie Lira Molly Macfadyen Kristofer Madejski Sara Lowry Akmal Majid Zach Manahan Zachary Marquess Adam Maurer Luis Mazuca Santillan Thom McBride Alex McHugh

Kelly McIntosh TyVon Merritt Mallory Messinger Nick Miller Kassidy Mix Patrick Morgan Anna Morton Sam Musch Morgan Myers * Crystian Neaman Dion Nemec Susanna Nunes Nick Nussbaum Zach Oblender Richard Oshlo III Clovis Ouedraogo Mikayla Palmer Austin Palubeskie Francisco Pascual Emily Pawoll Curtis Pelster Josh Pfeifer Caleb Piatkowski Tony Pleasant Nicole Ponack Elizabeth Porter Emma Quast Maiwand Rahmanzai Malia Rains

Chadrick Ratzburg * Cassie Reisdorff * Andrew Roehr Taylor Roscoe Allison Rush Nich Rush Phillip Sanberg Melissa Scannell Ali Schmitt Joe Schuld Hannah Seely * Nayeli Serrano Bennet Siebenaler Kyle Silke Matt Silva Kelsey Skokan Enrique Sotelo Molly Spelts Ethan Spires Amanda Steckelberg Elizabeth Stevens Ben Stout Matthew Summers Sam Swanson Austin Tennigkeit Danielle Thacker Jordan Thompson Jake Tingwald

Nick Troia Romekia Wallace Ignace Francois Martine Warson Eric Watters Mark Weidner Sean Whelan Susan White Chris Winchester Heather Winter Chris Wolf Tiantian Zhang Courtney Zych

*Finalists

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cba.unomaha.edu/capstonecup CONTACT Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles | Capstone Cup Director erinpmiles@unomaha.edu Dr. Erin Bass | Capstone Cup Director aebass@unomaha.edu College of Business Administration Mammel Hall 6708 Pine Street | Omaha, NE 68182

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